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Manzano Mountains, New Mexico

34°36′N, 106°22′W — Central New Mexico — small range south of Albuquerque, immediately east of Kirtland AFB

What's documented

The Manzano Mountains are a small range in central New Mexico, running roughly 40 miles south of Albuquerque, with the highest peak (Manzano Peak) at 3,077 m. Kirtland Air Force Base abuts the range's western base; the Manzano Weapons Storage Area, a facility built into the range itself in the 1950s, was a key element of the Cold War nuclear-weapons stockpile and remains partially active under modern designation. Civilian electronics engineer Paul Bennewitz, working from Albuquerque, monitored anomalous radio and optical signals over the Manzano range between 1979 and 1984.

Public-record imagery

The Manzano Mountains, looking south.
The Manzano Mountains, looking south.Wikipedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · Mark Tyra · 2007
The Manzano Mountains south of Albuquerque. Inside this ridge: the Manzano Weapons Storage Area, the largest US nuclear-weapons storage facility from 1952 to 1992.
The Manzano Mountains south of Albuquerque. Inside this ridge: the Manzano Weapons Storage Area, the largest US nuclear-weapons storage facility from 1952 to 1992.Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · Mark Tyra · 2007
A snowstorm sweeping over Piedras Canyon. The August 1980 Manzano sentry incident — guards saw a glowing object hovering over the storage bunkers — is in declassified AFOSI documents.
A snowstorm sweeping over Piedras Canyon. The August 1980 Manzano sentry incident — guards saw a glowing object hovering over the storage bunkers — is in declassified AFOSI documents.Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ybratcher · 2015
The abandoned Capilla Peak Observatory in the Manzano range — built by the University of New Mexico in 1965, used briefly for atmospheric monitoring, then mothballed.
The abandoned Capilla Peak Observatory in the Manzano range — built by the University of New Mexico in 1965, used briefly for atmospheric monitoring, then mothballed.Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Matthew.kowal · 2022